Enzo Ferrari

Biography

Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari was born in Modena on 18 February 1898; his birth certificate gives 20 February. He began racing in 1919, joined Alfa Romeo's racing department as a driver in 1920 and won his first Grand Prix, at Ravenna, in 1923. In 1929 he founded Scuderia Ferrari, which raced Alfa Romeos until it was dissolved in 1937 and folded into Alfa Corse.

He left Alfa Romeo in 1939 and set up Auto-Avio Costruzioni, which built two cars for the 1940 Mille Miglia. Ferrari the car maker dates from 1947: the 125 S, with a V12 designed by Gioachino Colombo, first raced at Piacenza on 11 May 1947 and won the Rome Grand Prix two weeks later. Ferrari won Le Mans in 1949, its first World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1951 and its first drivers' title, with Alberto Ascari, in 1952.

In 1969 Ferrari sold half of the company to Fiat, and in 1971 he stepped down as managing director of the road-car division. His son Dino died in 1956. Enzo Ferrari died in Maranello on 14 August 1988, aged 90; Fiat's stake then rose to 90%. He entered the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2000.